Sao Tome, June 7, 2025 (Lusa) - The Court of Auditors (TC) of Sao Tome has detected several irregularities, including overcharging the State, in the concession of a thermal power plant by the government of former Prime Minister Patrice Trovoada to Tesla STP, a company owned by Turkish investors, according to an audit.
According to the audit report dated May and consulted today by Lusa, the contractual modality for Tesla STP's energy production investment project "was a direct award, exempting it from any prior analysis or evaluation by entities with regulatory and supervisory powers in the field of energy".
The Court of Auditors states that "the tax exemptions granted by the General Customs Authority and the Tax Directorate to Tesla STP, its subcontractors, shareholders and group companies represented losses for the São Toméan State of at least €52,282,555.00".
The audit indicates that the Administrative Investment Contract involves a Public-Private Partnership and was signed on 10 October 2023 "with the aim of resolving the energy deficit in the country", and is structured in three phases.
The first phase provided for the installation of new diesel machinery within six months, for €10,850,000. The second phase provided for the installation of a multi-fuel power plant within 18 months, for €62,500,000, and the third phase provided for the installation of a solar power plant within 18 months, at a cost of €23,592,000, for a total investment of €96,942,000.
However, the audit concluded that "Tesla did not provide evidence of investment expenditure amounting to €10,850,000" as planned for the first phase of the contract.
The document also reveals that the installation work on the plant located in Água Grande, in the São Tomé capital, began in September 2023, "before the date of signature of the contract, which took place on 10 October 2023," and was carried out by FB Construction STP, a company belonging to the same group as Tesla STP.
On the other hand, it is stated that "the group of generators installed cannot produce 10 megawatts of energy (MWe) continuously, but Tesla charges the Water and Electricity Company (Emae) for the installed capacity, i.e. 10 MWe, and not for the capacity produced and consumed by Emae, in clear violation of the contract".
Concerning financial charges, the document reveals that "between December 2023 and December 2024, Emae was overcharged by €2,662,438.60.
However, it is also emphasised that of the €6,406,945.64 invoiced, Emae paid only €683,570.02, "owing €5,723,384.62".
According to the audit report, the contract stipulates that Emae "agrees and undertakes to supply free of charge [...] all the fuel necessary to produce electricity at the Phase One Plant", and that "the total number of litres supplied from December 2023 to December 2024 was 13,320,198 litres" equivalent to 374,596,623 dobras (€15,145,292).
The TC audit highlights that the employment contract breaches labour standards regarding equal pay between São Toméan and expatriate workers.
The TC notes that the contract with Tesla STP was signed under the Temporary Law on Investment Incentives, which aims to "grant the government, for four years, powers to define the conditions and modalities for authorising investment in the national territory.
Among its recommendations, the audit called for the amendment of this law "concerning prior supervision".
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